Foot-guard for railway frogs and guard-rails.



PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905. M. WATERS & W. M MITCHELL. FOOT GUARD FOR RAILWAY PROGS AND GUARD RAILS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29,1904.

UNITED STATES Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

MINOR WATERS, OF NEIN ALBANY, INDIANA, AND IVILLIAM M. MITCHELL, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

FOOT-GUARD FOR RAILWAY FROGS AND GUARD-RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,076, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed November 29, 1904. Serial No. 23A,?08-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MINOR WATERS, of New Albany, Floyd county, Indiana, and VVIL- LIAn M. MITCHELL, of Louisville, Jefferson county, Kentucky, have invented a certain new, useful, and Improved Foot-Guard for Railway Frogs and Guard-Rails; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to safety appliances for use in connection with railway frogs, guard-rails, and switches, said appliances being used to close or occupy the acute angles and narrow spaces which exist between the rails of such railroad devices.

The object of our invention is to provide a metallic substitute for the wooden blocks that are commonly used to fill the angles of railway frogs, guard-rails, and switches; and the invention consists, primarily, in a new article of manufacture, comprising a stamped or formed metal plate shaped to fit a given angle or space and having upturned flanges at its edges and at its ends provided with downwardly-turned supports or legs adapted to rest upon the rail-flanges or the cross-ties; and, further, our invention consists in particular combinations and forms of guard-rails for use with and as related to the rails comprising a frog or other track part or device, all as hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Our invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like figures of reference indicate similar parts, and in which Figure 1 is a railway-frog equipped with foot-guards which embody our invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-section on the line or: w of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the foot-guards.

In said drawings, which form a part of this specification, 2 2 represent the cross-ties, 3 3 the converging main rails,and A A the diverging rails, the latter having guard-rail extensions A A parallel with the rails 8 3 and terminating in the wide-angled ends A" A". Each extension A forms an obtuse angle with its main rail portion A, and the point A, formed by the converging rails 3 3, enters nearly to the angle-points or throat B of the rails A A. The rails are all securely spiked to the ties and together constitute a railroad frog of common form. This special frog is used only by way of illustration. It will be understood that our invention, hereinafter described, is not limited to this special frog, but is intended for and is capable of use with all forms and kinds of railway switches, guards, frogs,

crossings, and the like wherein any two rails approach closely or meet and form an acute angle in which it would be possible for a person walking on the track to catch his foot, formerly a common source of fatal accidents.

It has been customary to fill the angles or angle-spaces of railway-tracks with blocks of wood. These are liable to rot and breakage and require frequent renewal, with the result that they represent a considerable item of cost in railway maintenance as well as a source of danger when neglected. To obviate both cost and danger, we discard the common wooden blocks and in place thereof employ metal plates. It would be impractical to simply reproduce the wooden blocks inmetal because of the greater cost of iron or steel, but by forming the device of thin malleable or sheet metal, preferably steel, the cost may be reduced to substantially the cost of wooden blocks or fillers. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, each of our devices takes the form or shape and size of the space which it is to ill]; but in other respects they are identical. Therefore a description of one will serve for all.

The device, as stated, is made of sheet metal or is a thin malleable casting. It comprises a top plate portion 5, having the shape of the cavity to be occupied. The edges of the plate portion are turned upwardly to form the flanges 6 6. The device is formed with legs 7 and 8 at its ends, turned or bent out at the bottom to form the feet 7' and 8. The legs and feet are preferably narrower than corresponding ends of the plate portion in order than the feet may set down between the base-flanges of the adjacent rails. If desired,

the side flanges 6 6 of the foot guard may stop short of the ends of the plate portion; but

we prefer that said flanges shall extend to the narrow end of the plate at least. Both feet or a single foot of the guard may have a spike hole or holes 9, through which a spike may be driven to secure the guard in place.

The guard is of much less height than the rails, and the edges of its side flanges 6 6 abut or bind beneath the corners of the railheads, as shown in Fig. 2. In this manner the guard is held down and against side movement also, and the top of the guard is dropped out of reach of the flanges of wheels rolling on the rails. In the case of the guard that is formed to lit the throat B of the frog the side flanges are particularly valuable, as they permit the insertion of the guard from the rail-tops, the flanges yielding enough to pass or press down between the rail-heads.

The guards may be made cheaply of all sizes and shapes and being strengthened by the side flanges may be made of very light material.

e prefer that the feet of the guards shall rest squarely upon the ties; but it is obvious that the legs and feet thereof may be formed to fit upon the rail bases or flanges; also, that various modifications of our invention, such as ribbed plates and the like, will readily suggest themselves to one skilled'in the art. As such changes and others not herein mentioned are within the intent and scope of our invention, we do not limit or confine the invention to the specific construction herein shown and described.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A foot-guard of the class and for the purpose specified, comprising a V-shaped sheetmetal plate portion 5, resilient upwardlyturned flanges 6, 6 formed on said plate portion and of less'length thansaid portion, narrow end portions, downwardly-turned leg portions 7 and 8 at the ends of the plate portion and feet portions 7, 8, substantially as described.

2. A foot-guard of the class and for the purpose specified, comprising a plate portion 5 of double V-shape to lit between oppositely-eonverging rails, the upwardly-turned resilient flanges 6, 6 conforming to the shape of the plate portion but of less length, and the leg portions provided with feet and narrowerthan the plate portion, said leg portions being formed by turning the ends of the plate portion downwardly at right angles thereto, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Witness my hand this 24th day of November, 190A, in the presence of two witnesses.

. MINOR WATERS. itnesses:

Geo. A. Nmvn'ousn, FRANK-E. MILLER.

In testimony whereof witness my hand this 25th day of November, 1904.

\VILLIAM M. MITCHELL.

Witnesses:

CHARLES GILBERT HAWLEY, JOHN R. LEFEVRE. 

